As I said in last weeks blog, this week we spent in the morgue. That said, there is a lot going on after the body gets there. If the body is just bones, which is what our victim is, the first thing to do is to clean them, then after to arrange them anatomically correct order (photo below). What happens next, I had no idea that it was done. Of course they have to check for injuries, and classify them as antemortem (before death), perimortem (at time of death), or postmortem (after death), but I didn't know that they had to draw their findings. I thought they took a photo and then made notes after. Just like last week we had a hands on while looking at the fractures and recording notes on what we saw (photo below).

Speaking of the mortem stages, there are ways to tell when a bone was broken. With the first one, antemortem, the way to tell is pretty obvious. When a bone is broken in life it take on a callus; in other words it heals itself. But when it is a major break, it has to be set (fit into place where the fracture happened), because if it is not the bone will not heal correctly (photo below; is a tibia). Now when a bone is broken perimortem, I was excited to find out how they can know if a bone was broken peri or postmortem because those two are very close to each other in the time line. What differentiates them is simply that perimortem is live bone. When a bone that is living is broken, it bends. With the bending, it leaves breakaway spurs (photo below). The breakaway spur also shows where the cut ended (think of when you cut wood).

That said, our body was dismembered. The bones that had damage were both humerus, both femurs, and one rib. All the long bones (humeri and femora) were cut close to the proximal (closer to the point of attachment of a limb to the body), but the rib was nicked in the superiour section. What makes this very interesting is the perpetrator used two weapons. On the long bones a saw was used. How we know that is because of the kerf walls on which striations of the weapon are left. There are also hesitation marks on the left femur. Now for the rib there is a “V” shaped cut, which means they used a knife for this one. These fractures were caused bysharp force trauma. There are three types of trauma; blunt force, sharp force, and projectile or ballistic trauma. Blunt force trauma is when something blunt, like a bat, makes impact with the bone; this one are usually not fatal. Now for the sharp force, this one, as with our case, can be fatal. For this type of trauma, I did not know there were categories within this one, three to be exact. The first are incised wounds. These are caused by an object with sharp boarders, like knife. The second are stab wounds. These also are incised wounds, but the difference lies in that there is more depth and penetration, and it does not always have to be a knife to make this sort of wound. The last are called chop wounds. These are made by axes, swords, and the type. These can cause extensive bone damage, like what happened to the humeri and femora. Lastly we have the ballistic trauma. From the name you can infer that it has to do with bullets. For this type of trauma, the wound can leave not much to the imagination because of the way the bullet went in and came out, which will reveal the trajectory. Next week we are introduced to the principles and practice of biological identification as the identity of the victim is slowly revealed. So that is exciting! Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover after the weeks are done (three left).

This week was not as exciting as last week, but at the same time, it was. What I mean by that is this week we had a hands on experience of what a forensic archaeologist comes to the crime scene. The first thing we did was lean how a crime scene is mapped. When you think of a map, you think of cities, towns, streets, but the map we were taught about was an evidence map. And we were not taught how to read it, but how to make it (thus hands on). What a forensic archaeologist has to do first is establish a baseline and which end the evidence is going to be measured against (more on this shortly). A baseline is either a long measuring tape or even a piece of rope would do. They place this baseline in the middle of the evidence. For what they do next they do need a measuring tape this time. The reason for this is because they need to measure how far away the evidence is from the baseline. They take two measurements; first how far away the evidence is from the baseline (and making sure to keep a ninety degree angle for these to get an accurate reading), and second how far away the evidence is from the end which they decided to measure against it. Now the start of making the map they need to write down the information. They start with recording the measurements and labeling them as evidence 1, 2, and so on. What they do next is to give direction of which of the 4 directions (north, south, east, west) the evidence is from the base line. After all this is done, they draw their baseline on a piece of graph paper keeping in mind what each block would be measuring (5s, 10, and so on). They then begin to use the information they just gathered to create an accurate map of what was found. An example is below.

After doing this we were able to see the body; well, what was left of it. What the forensic archaeologist has to do next, as did we, is to “draw a scaled diagram of the final view of the remains prior to their recovery.” I must say, it was stressful trying my best to draw the bones to scale. What is more is they were cut, so the heads of the long bones were everywhere. As I went to the next section I saw the forensic archaeologist's rendition of the grave. I saw that there were bones I did not see in the photograph of the body, but below the drawing I saw, “Drawings and photographs of the grave are included in the primary record to give scale and clarity of detail that may be not be represented or visible in photographs alone.” So by the looks of it forensic archaeologists also have to take physical anthropology and be familiar with the bones. Below I have posted the photograph of the body, the forensic archaeologists rendition, then what I did.

Next week we are off to the morgue. I hope you enjoyed this blog entry, and you can give a try to mapping your own scene. If you have an idea that you would like me to speak of, please do not hesitate to comment.

The first week of the Identifying the Dead class had pretty basic material; but in a video that they posted on Friday promised that we are going to think “why did I decide to take this class.” That said, there were a few elements that seemed obvious, but I did not know. The first was what happens when a bone is found. If it happens to be human, the first thought is not always “it must be a murder,” but more along the lines of taking into account if it is an archaeological site or if it was a battle ground. But even though those are taken in account, where the bone was found takes a huge part. Once it is found after it has been identified as human, and that it is not an archaeological or battle site, the next step is to see where it was found. Now the “where” I am speaking of has to do with whether it was found buried or on the surface. If found on the surface it is not that suspicious, but it found buried, then it becomes highly suspicious; and then the thought would be “murder.” Something else that I learned was figuring out what side of the body the bone belongs to. In the class the first bone that was found was an ulna (the bone in the forearm that is on the side of the pinky), and we had to identify which side it came from. Below is a picture of an ulna. I have labeled the key to figuring out if it is on the right or left arm. The radial notch (which the radius attaches to) is on the right side of the ulna if it is the left ulna, and it is on the left side if it belongs to the right side. Then, of course, picture below is the left ulna. Next to it an an example of how the radius and ulna connect. Any to guess which side that ulna belongs to? That is pretty much what I took away from the first week. But I am sure that week two will have more flesh on it, or preferably lack of it.

Now onto the surprise that has taken the physical anthropological community and the world by storm. The eighth Homo species to be identified which has been dubbed Homo naledi. Reason for the name "naledi," which means star, is because they were found in the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. What makes this find remarkable is that not one specimen was found, but 15. What is more is how the bones resemble different Homo's. “Homo naledi has slender arms and legs like modern humans; a small brain capacity akin to Homo erectus (which evolved about 2 million years ago); and hips, shoulders, and chests similar to Australopithecus (the genus that predates Homo and ranges in age from 4 million to 1.4 million years ago). Its wrists and palms, like its arms, are similar to ours. But it has an immensely powerful thumb...It is, as Berger described it, 'A Mr. Potato Head disaster.'” It is lucky that such a big sample size was found, because if they only found one with those traits, it would be thought of as a hoax. And with this completely new Homo, it as been met, unusually, without much controversy. Something else that makes it even more amazing is the reason they could find such a big sample size. It is theorized, that the Homo naledi deliberately buried their dead; much like we do in modern days. “So they are not only secreting these bodies away to an area where nothing could get to them, they were taking risks in doing that. Only humans do that.” Homo naledi was thousands of years ahead of the Egyptian's. That is the first thing that came into my mind when I read “where nothing could get to them.” These bone were found in a cave, with limited room. Now we have seen this before, but the usual explanation for burial is that there was flood. Not in this case though. In those cases there are usually other animal bones with them or sand and sediments; none of that was in the cave where Homo naledi was found. If we are finding more Homo's in our time, it is exciting to think how many forms of Homo have evolved throughout the ages. What is more, can you imagine what it must have felt like to see this, any Homo that has not been seen in thousands, sometimes millions of years, for the first time since then. And for Homo naledi it is suggested that “So if our present understanding of the time frame of the genus Homo is right, then naledi must be somewhere older than 2 million years as a species, in its origins. That doesn’t mean the population we found is that old.” How exciting is that? Homo sapiens may have interacted with them. Maybe we bred with them as well; as I stated early the wrist, palm, legs, and arms are all similar to us.

You can expect a blog next week after my second week of the Identifying the Dead class. I do hope there is more to speak of it. And I am excited for week two, but nothing beats finding a new Homo. Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.

Hello, to my readers. I know that I said I was taking a month hiatus, but personal problems happened; none of which belong on this blog. But something happened that does belong here. About a month ago I found out about a website that offers free classes, but the class that I saw on it is what caught my attention. The class is titled "Identifying the Dead," and, of course if you've been following this blog, it is right up my ally. After a month of waiting, the time has come. Even thought the class officially starts tomorrow, the material is already up. So what I would like to do in the 6 weeks this class lasts is to post blogs about what about the material I had not known earlier, and exactly what is going on. For you who are interested, this is an online class and you can still join, here is a link to the course: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/identifying-the-dead I cannot express the joy I am feeling right now, but I hope to share it in the weeks that follow. Look forward to a new blog entry next week. Below are screen-captures of what will be covered this week. If you see something you would like me to cover next week, do not hesitate to leave a comment.